The Jeff Metcalf Undergraduate Scholars is an opportunity exposing University of Chicago students to the world-class science conducted at the MBL.

The Marine Biological laboratory (MBL), founded in 1888 on Cape Cod in the village of Woods Hole Massachusetts, is a private nonprofit research institution and affiliate of the University of Chicago. An international center for innovation in scientific research and education, the MBL has drawn the world’s greatest minds in science to carry out some of their most creative and far-reaching work.

The Jeff Metcalf Undergraduate Scholars targets first through fourth year undergraduate students. It is designed to help students explore science beyond their core courses and immerse in comprehensive discovery research over a 10-week summer experience. Augmenting student learning are career enrichment opportunities such as weekly lunch seminars with MBL faculty, evening science lectures, professional development opportunities, social and cultural engagements and a chance to go on an excursion aboard the research vessel Gemma. These experiences are tailored to foster student-faculty relationships, help to develop academic and professional credentials and aid students in refining their career goals.

APPLY: Students will apply through the UChicago Career Advancement platform HandShake.

AWARD: Room and board is paid for through the partnership between Career Advancement’s Jeff Metcalf Internship Program and the University of Chicago Biological Science Collegiate Division. We encourage you to review the housing and dining amenities; the houses are not air conditioned. Students are required to live in the provided housing located in either Drew, Veeder or David house and accommodations are organized as double and triple rooms. In addition to room and board, students will receive a stipend check of $2,412. Some SURF cohort activities will also be organized and provided during the 10 week stay.

DEADLINE: Applications will be accepted until February 8, 2018. Applications will be reviewed and ranked by a committee. Students will be notified of their acceptance via email by early March. Those accepted into the program will need to plan on arriving by Wednesday June 13, 2018 for orientation. The program runs ten weeks through August 17, 2018 and students must commit to the entire program.

“My summers at the MBL completely transformed the way I understood scientific research, ultimately inspiring my interest in pursuing graduate studies alongside medical school. In the lab, I was particularly fascinated by the intricacies of metabolic regulation and evolutionarily conserved responses to external perturbations on vertebrate systems. I was given the freedom to raise important questions, craft a working hypothesis, and design experiments, pushing the boundaries of our current scientific knowledge! Even more, I felt fully supported and challenged by everyone around me. The MBL community, graduate students and Nobel laureates alike, actively encouraged my budding interest in research. I was not only surrounded by the world's leading scientists, but also engaged with them in collaborative and inquisitive scientific dialogues. In summary, my time at the MBL was truly invaluable, as it introduced to me a new passion and community in which to thrive. As I pursue my career as a physician-scientist, I will always consider MBL my inspiration and home.” -- Clara Kao